Chapter 73: “Guests” Arrival (Part IV)
“Alright, let’s make it this way then,” Cedric stood up and patted Lilith on the shoulder. “The duel will be in half a month, whether you can go to the Netherrealm depends on yourself.”
“I understand,” Lilith nodded heavily.
Cedric slightly nodded his head, exchanged farewells with those present, and then left the Nightmoon Tavern.
Watching Cedric leave, Lilith couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, then turned and gently hugged Elrose. “Thank you, Elrose.”
“Oh, it’s no big deal. Talking about money feels so vulgar, this is just small change,” Elrose smiled slightly, then continued, “Besides, what I dislike the most is those who think they are the strongest just because they have good equipment.”
“True strong ones (Demon Kings) can go out in their bare gear, even alone, and still take on thousands.”
“And false strong ones (Heroes), no matter how good or flashy their weapons are, once they lose them, they’re just a group of trash.”
“You need to be tough yourself as well; Lilith must never become someone who only relies on equipment, understand?” Elrose declared with righteousness.
“Oh, I understand,” Lilith nodded repeatedly, but then said with some confusion, “But why do I feel a strong sense of resentment?”
“Ahem, that’s just your illusion,” Elrose lightly coughed twice and then, puzzled, asked, “By the way, Lilith, can I ask you a question? Since you want to go to the Netherrealm, can’t you just go alone? Why do you have to follow that Expeditionary Force?”
Hearing this, Lilith paused for a moment, then smiled knowingly. “Oh, Elrose, you might not know yet, but the Netherrealm is a very dangerous place. It’s said that encountering just a Goblin there could possibly be a Saint Tier existence. In such a place, let alone by oneself, even the best S-level adventuring team wouldn’t dare to guarantee they could survive and reach the Blood Clan’s territory. So we can only follow the special ship of the Sacred Domain and form a large group to go together.”
“And that so-called quota, to put it bluntly, is just a spot on that ship,” Lilith explained carefully.
“Is that how it is?” Elrose realized suddenly, “Then what exactly is that ship?”
“It’s a super battleship that can turn invisible, equipped with exceptionally powerful firepower. It’s rumored that its main cannon can directly obliterate monsters of level five hundred in one shot.”
“Is that for real? That’s so fierce?!” Elrose said incredulously. “How come I’ve never heard of this before?”
“You should have heard of it; just not in this form,” Lilith laughed. “The ship is only one of its forms; its essence is just a magic cube.”
“Magic cube?” Elrose froze for a moment, then his eyes widened suddenly. “Could it be that thing?!”
“Yes, it’s exactly what you’re thinking of,” Lilith said with a hint of longing. “The Lauren Magic Cube, the legendary holy artifact of the previous Hero, the Armored Hero.”
Wow, it really is that thing.
The Lauren Magic Cube, a weapon comparable to the Holy Sword, has at least intertwined the life forces of four Demon Kings, an existence that is forever engraved in the history of the Netherrealm and cannot be forgotten.
But soon, Elrose raised another question: “Wait, Lilith, isn’t it said that legendary holy artifacts can only be used by Heroes? The Armored Hero has been dead for a thousand years; who is using the Lauren Magic Cube now?”
“I’m not clear on that; it’s probably that the big shots of the Sacred Domain figured out some special method to operate the Lauren Magic Cube,” Lilith said.
“Is that how it is…,” Elrose nodded but still felt like something was off.
“Oh, by the way, since we’re talking about this, why don’t we chat about some happy topics?” Lilith said excitedly. “By the way, which Hero do you all like the most?”
“That would naturally be the Mage Hero,” Luna was the first to reply. “The world’s strongest Mage, defeating four Demon Kings in a one-versus-seven scenario, dying gloriously in battle; I would call him the strongest Hero in history.”
“Nonsense, the strongest Hero in history should definitely be the first Hero, the Sword Hero,” Stella immediately stood up to express her disagreement. “The first is the strongest; Sister Luna, you don’t even understand such a simple principle?”
“Goddamn the first being the strongest; where did you get that nonsense?” Luna retorted. “Times are progressing, technology is developing; the waves of the Yangtze push the previous waves forward, with the old waves dying on the beach, my good sister.”
“That’s not nonsense; it’s a fact,” Stella said. “The Sword Hero almost destroyed the entire Netherrealm; if that’s not the strongest, then what counts as strong?”
“This…” Luna was momentarily at a loss for words, quickly coughed lightly and then changed the subject. “What about you, Lilith? Who’s your favorite Hero?”
“That would definitely be the Armored Hero,” Lilith answered without hesitation.
“Why?” Luna asked with curiosity.
“What other reason could there be? Of course, it’s because he’s handsome,” Lilith said with a dreamy look. “Throughout history, among the seven Heroes, I don’t know who is the strongest, but I only know that the most handsome one must be the Armored Hero.”
“Love-struck,” Luna scoffed and then looked at Elrose beside her. “Little Belle, which Hero do you like the most?”
“Ah, me?” Elrose scratched the back of her head, a bit shy. “Well, I’m not very clear on the stories of the Heroes, so, haha, I’ll pass.”
“Wow, Angelic Onee-san, you’re not joking, right? There are actually people in this world who don’t know the Hero’s stories? You’ve seen ‘The Legend of the Savior’, haven’t you?”
“I’ve seen it, I’ve seen it; it was just a long time ago, I forgot, haha,” Elrose said with a silly smile.
This was a lie.
As a former Demon King, Elrose was very familiar with the stories of each Hero. She could even recite the book, ‘The Legend of the Savior’, which documented the stories of all the Heroes, backward.
But if you asked her who her favorite Hero was, sorry, really couldn’t say.
From the perspective of Humanity, ‘The Legend of the Savior’ was a myth documenting the Heroes defeating Demon Kings and saving the world. The Heroes, as the protagonists, were righteous and brave, undaunted by difficulties, overcoming countless hardships for the hope of a better tomorrow for mankind.
But from the perspective of the Demon Clan, that was, tmd, an ultimate horror disaster story about genocide.
This was a vast land known as the Netherrealm, where there was a mysterious phenomenon: every few hundred years, an exceedingly terrifying abnormal life form would appear, and that was ——– the Hero.
The appearance of every Hero would bring about tremendous disaster to the Netherrealm; no Demon Clan could escape it.
With the concerted efforts of all Demon Clans and various Demon Kings, Heroes were repeatedly eliminated yet always reappeared.
The First Hero, the Sword Hero, almost cleared out the Demon Clan by himself.
The Second Hero, the Bow Hero, tore through the sky and earth with his own power, blocking the largest scale attack in the history of the Netherrealm.
The Third Hero, the Spear Hero, entered the Netherrealm by himself, killing five Demon Kings one after another and retreating unscathed.
The Fourth Hero, the Mage Hero, simultaneously challenged seven major Demon Kings, expending all his mana to kill four of them, leaving the other three severely wounded.
The Fifth Hero, the Armored Hero, summoned millions of mechanical troops by himself, reducing the number of Demon Clan by seventy percent.
The Sixth Hero, the Armored Hero, who was very handsome, and the rest…
The Seventh Hero, the Nameless Hero, also known as the Golden Dragon Hero, the guardian of Humanity for a hundred years, successfully killed the strongest Demon King in history, who was also the only Demon King of that time, the Shadow Demon King, Gideon.
All seven Heroes were evildoers, not one of them was easy to deal with.
In contrast, the experiences of the various Demon Kings upon encountering Heroes were astonishingly similar ——– fukc, this dog is cheating.
Back to reality.
“Forgot?” Stella, upon hearing Elrose’s words, volunteered. “No worries, Angelic Onee-san, which Hero’s story do you want to hear? I can tell you right now.”
“Haha, no need, really no need,” Elrose smiled and quickly changed the subject. “By the way, Kendrick, which Hero do you like the most?”
“Do I even need to ask? It must be the current Hero,” Lilith answered directly.
“Mm-mm, yes, yes, Kendrick is a die-hard fan of the Golden Dragon Hero,” Stella added.
“Oh, is that so?” Elrose thought for a moment and said, “But that makes sense; after all, he’s a lifesaver.”
“There’s more than just the saving grace,” Kendrick said solemnly. “The Golden Dragon Hero is truly different from other Heroes.”
“He’s not like other Heroes, who are merely a flash in the pan, causing chaos in the Netherrealm before disappearing; he understands what people need, so he has protected Humanity for over three hundred years. In my eyes, just this commitment alone beats all other Heroes.”
“That’s not to say he’s unbeatable,” Luna interjected. “For three hundred years, he hasn’t gone to the Netherrealm to kill even a single Demon King. To be honest, it makes one doubt his real strength; he’s probably the weakest of all Heroes.”
“Weakest? Don’t joke around.” Elrose suddenly couldn’t sit still. “His not killing Demon Kings doesn’t mean he can’t, just because he doesn’t kill now doesn’t mean he won’t in the future. Mark my words, the Golden Dragon Hero is definitely the strongest among all Heroes.”
Elrose’s voice was firm, as if there was no room for rebuttal.
Of course, he was the strongest.
He was the one who killed the strongest version of me; how could he possibly be weak?
If he were the weakest, wouldn’t that mean I’m weak too?
No way!
I am the strongest Demon King in history, able to take on seven major Demon Kings in my pinnacle state without issues.
With the previous Heroes I encountered, I could wipe them out in seconds.
The others were somewhat taken aback upon hearing this. They thought that Kendrick would be the one to stand up and counter Luna’s words, but before Kendrick could speak, Elrose preemptively stood up to express her opposition.
“Little Belle, I didn’t expect you to be a fan of the current Hero too,” Luna remarked.
“Huh? How is that possible? Who would be a fan of that guy? I just slightly acknowledge his strength,” Elrose immediately denied.
No way, how could I be his fan?
I might be the person who wishes him dead the most in this world.
“Not his fan? Then why do you think he’s the most powerful? And…” Luna paused, considering. “And the way you talk, could it be that you know him?”
Elrose was taken aback, her eyes darting around. “Th-that’s definitely impossible! I just think that since he is the oldest among all Heroes, isn’t it normal for him to be strong?”
“That makes sense, but why do I feel…”
“Dingling.”
Before Luna could finish her sentence, a clear bell chimed from outside, and the door of the tavern was slowly pushed open.
Elrose immediately stood up. “Someone’s here; I’ll go check.”
Saying that, she darted out of the kitchen.
In the Nightmoon Tavern under the moonlit night, a strange man fully wrapped in a black cloak was quietly standing by the dining table, looking around as if confirming something.
At that moment, Elrose suddenly dashed out from the kitchen.
“Hello, are you here to eat?”
The cloaked man did not respond. Instead, he took out a photo from his pocket and compared it with Elrose.
Clearly, she was not the person he was looking for.
Seeing the black-clothed man silent for a while, Elrose frowned slightly, thinking this person couldn’t be mute, right?
But the next moment.
The man’s hoarse voice rang out. “Is Luna living here?”
“Luna?” Elrose immediately called out toward the kitchen. “Luna, someone is looking for you.”
Before long, Luna slowly walked out from the kitchen. In just a moment, she froze.
“Black, Obsidian Tower?”
